There’s a method in my madness!

To the uninitiated, I have been living ‘the’ life and everything just happened to fall into my cosy lap! The only two truths in what I have just stated are: things falling and my lap being cosy!! Apart from this, the above statement couldn’t have been far from the truth.

I have been working for a great part of my adult life and more noticeably after getting hitched to another workaholic, one silver anniversary moon ago. Yet, at no point in time did ‘the’ life come into the picture and always I had to make that effort, that first move to approach people, connect with them and leave them with no choice but to have me on-board. And those are lessons which any new earthling, starting out fresh with nothing worthwhile on their C.V. can use as a super intelligent tip from a veteran: I agreed to work in my initial years, in which ever organisation I ‘wanted to’, as opposed to ‘went to’, honorarily i.e. in short without any emoluments or pay packet.

**I keep thumbing my nose at the world and its established ‘norms’, more often than not.**

For me the ‘deep significance’ is in relationships built, impressions created, moments which translated into eternity and thus remain forever, vivid, being hated because of the way others loved me and most of all, leaving my footprints not just in organisations but in people’s hearts which no waves of time can ever wipe out!!!

This clever ploy helped me gain the much needed experience which was varied, rich, unique, so heterogenous that by the time this ‘district-uer’ (this term I have coined to signify where I was or what I happened to be being in the districts; we have small districts in our big states and my police officer husband was posted in different small districts around the state which was his parent cadre; for the uninitiated as central police officers in my country, each officer who is selected to the Indian Police Service is allotted any of the 29 States & 7 Union territories which make up my country; there are more of them now than there were then: 24 States & 7 Union territories to be precise all those years back) came to be the town gal, so to say, the rough edges had been smoothed out and no formal organisation ever looked at an empty C.V.

……..the huge tapestry and repertoire of tasks we can find, as we seek work has to be felt, enjoyed, taken-in and a stockpile of memories to be made from it…….

……….much like this unforgetable walk near Bluff, a seaport town on the southern coast of the South Island of New Zealand (***https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluff,_New_Zealand)*** which we always take, to build-up our appetite for a hearty meal at the Oyster’s Cove, (https://oystercove.co.nz/) a small resturant placed on a hillside with the most stupendous views of the coast and beyond

Needless to add that since the time I have started this odyssey with work, the satisfaction, sense of fulfilment and accomplishment has always been more because I have got work on my own merit and nothing of ‘the’ haloed life of being from the blue-blooded strata of public life ever arbitrated or intervened as I annexed work experience in the city. Organisations I joined did not know for several months about my exact background because I wouldn’t mention it in the said column and would answer evasively when asked a specific question about it – and believe me, my background does generate a lot of interest. Which surprisingly and disquietingly wasn’t because of how beautifully I have been bought up nor how amazingly my teachers have taught me to be so aware of my learning nor so much even for the fact that I speak the English language quite colourfully but sadly because my poor unsuspecting husband’s job profile means many different things to many different people in my country!!!!

I never wanted to be accepted for and by, anything or anybody, under any circumstances, for anything except for being ME!!

**Often when we start working, we do not know how our emloyable life would pan out to be, each year there seems to be a bend.**

The skill is in negotiating the unexpected, learning from failures and disappointments but never letting go of that inherent person one is…….makes no sense to squander away what we invest all our growing up years, so hard to learn and spend an awful lot of money too, on it!!
**For school and college education isn’t free in India like it is so in many other parts of the world!**

**Learning from teachers is the most influencial part of all experiences one gains in those formative years.**
I can vouch for it as a student and now as an educator myself that when I am in my classroom, I always am conscious that I am in “a building which has four walls with tomorrow inside”. (Lon Watters)
Thus, I always got my son to thank his teachers and he did it with a special card (which I made of course!!) for his teachers just before he passed out of his school.

………………..and a stationary tower which became a highlight in his school in that years TEACHERS DAY – 5 September – a day designated in India to celebrate its teachers and a legendary persona: Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, former President of India
**(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarvepalli_Radhakrishnan)**

Being me had its immense advantages – I couldn’t be cloned or copied. Though my work always was, especially after I left organisations. Some use it even till today. I always treated it with a lifting of my collars because it meant I was unique. That feeling is euphoric and continues to please me as a punch. Each of us is unique and leave a mark wherever we go. It is up to us whether it’s a blemish, a scar or a shinning example of a swan song!

I always prefer the latter and have had many on my teams, people who were an epitome of similar thought processes.

It was always a delight to think of different ways to keep their (team of teachers) spirits lifted and high for apart from the remuneration, which was never mine to do, the ‘josh’ part always was my forte!
Loved to ask my teams after each successful event, in my different and unique ways: “How’s the josh??!!”
“HIGH!” would always be the resounding response!
Kept all of us going – teaching kids is no less than a battlefield, taking this liberty of comparision without wanting to take away the credit or importance or significance from our armed forces.
**What better person to understand this than a daughter of the forces herself – owe a lot to my army background upbringing!!!**

For us in a school environment, the whole plethora of activities we did, was our canvas – to paint, craft out, mould and model.

**We took influences and ideas from whoever, whatever – we saw, encountered with ONLY one intention of making it exemplary for our students!!!!**

**Inspiration comes from everything around us!!!**

**All my work tells a story which I love to remember, influence with and touch someone’s life with!!!**

I shopped, subscribed, ordered books and resources and have spend huge amounts of my personal resources to further my passion of touching those small lives and have always left those resources at all the organisations I have worked, without any CTC!!
**These and many more such as these, would be found in schools where I have worked across my city!!!**

Its only about getting inspired and being motivated and enthused about work. Any idea, any design, any thought, anything can be then responsible for the next step – that leap of faith!!